Lament
by The Other Author
Summary: The war against Madara has been won, but at what price? A hero has fallen and has left a woman grieving. What happens when your sunny place is now dark?


A/N: Well I'm here again with another story. Going to go ahead and apologize as I'm not so sure I did a great job, but I have had this idea stuck in my mind for the past year or three. I think it works best if read with Lover's Mask by Theophany playing at the same time, but hey that's just me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be procrastinating from writing stories by playing Pokemon X. Or would I?

* * *

The bright light of the summer sun annoyed her. This weather did not fit her mood in any way. The war against Uchiha Madara had been won, but at what cost?

Tears fell from her face, as she raised her head and looked at the large memorial stone in front of her. So many people had died in the war that the old stone had to be replaced with a new larger stone.

Thousands of names of fallen heroes littered the face of the stone, but one stood out in particular to her, Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto had made the ultimate sacrifice in order to save anyone. Madara had freed himself from his false edo tensei form and was alive. He had all the bjuu trapped and ready to be consumed to release the Shinju. With a heavy look, Naruto asked his father and the Nidaime Hokage to return everyone to their homes.

No one knows what happened next, but they know that Naruto was successful in defeating Madara, at the cost of his own life and the life of one of his closest friends, Kurama.

His death affected the nations. Suna held a time of mourning for several months, grieving the loss of a man who saved their leader, Gaara, from the trap of hatred. Iwa brought their greatest master of earth ninjutsu to carve an entire mountain into the form of Naruto and Kurama, a constant reminder of the sacrifice of peace. It is said that there is not a day that someone is not paying their respects to the two heroes. In Kumo something happened so shocking, that people feared the world had ended, Killer Bee had taken a vow of silence. Kiri created a link to the forgotten land of Uzu, and rebuilt the island as an honor to Naruto and his clan. Many people came to marvel at the beauty of the once abandoned land, and learn about the hero that was so dearly loved. In Konoha, the village celebrated their hero. His death, while mourned, was seen as a great achievement. Konoha decided that Naruto's expression of the will of fire was exactly what was needed in a Hokage. The village had grown to respect Naruto so much through his acts while he was alive and his sacrifice to save them all, they gave him the title of Sixth-Hokage. The Hokage Mountain could now be seen with six faces overlooking the village, giving a sense of comfort and awe to all who visited.

Time went on and people accepted Naruto's demise. People thought of him, and were proud. The sadness of his departure was replaced with the admiration of a legend.

However, there was one who would never forget the sadness. Hinata Hyuuga.

She fell to her knees as grief overcame her, tears flowing faster and faster from her lavender eyes. She wished she could have saved him.

'If only I was stronger,' She thought, 'Then he would still be here.'

Hinata looked up to the sky as she let out a whimper.

'We were supposed to leave hand in hand. We were going to be happy, but now I am alone.'

Standing up, Hinata wiped the tears from her eyes, as she started to return to the Hyuuga compound.

'I miss you so much, Naruto-Kun. I feel so empty without your smile. Why couldn't you stay here? Why couldn't you stay with me.'

For what seemed like hours, Hinata walked through Konoha, as if she was on autopilot. The smiling faces of the villagers were foreign to her.

As Hinata neared her home, she saw a smiling family. A beautiful woman in a red dress with flowing pink hair smiled as she held a baby with barely noticeable black hair. Standing next to her, with a broad smile, was a tall man with black hair who was wearing a white robe that was held up with an orange sash. On the back of there clothes was a fan, the symbol of the Uchiha clan.

Bitterness grew in Hinata as she looked at the family.

'They smile, laugh, and grow. All without a thought of who sees them. They ignore his death, as if they are mocking my love. Why do they get happiness? They caused you so much pain and they are rewarded for it. If only I hadn't been such a fool.'

Hinata hurried past them, ignoring the cry of her name coming from the happy family.

She started running as fast as she could, without care for the people around her. Villagers and ninja's alike jumped out of the way of the Hyuuga heiress. All she wanted to do was get home.

Seeing her home naught a block away, Hinata slowed herself from her sprint. Hinata Ducked into an alley, while doing a discreet handsign.

With a quick murmur of Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, there was a puff of smoke, and a second Hinata had appeared.

Hinata looked at the exact replica of herself, and gave a slight smile.

'At least I have this to remind me of you.'

Giving a quick look at her clones faces and clothes, Hinata dispelled the clone and applied a genjutsu to hide the signs of her mourning.

Leaving the alley, Hinata walked to the gate of her home. With a quick hello to the guards, Hinata entered her home.

She quickly navigated her way to her room, ignoring the greetings of her family.

"Hinata!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Hinata turned and saw her father standing in front of her. She winced as she saw a stern look on his face, something she was quite used to.

"You need to stop sneaking out," He said with an authoritative voice, "You are needed here to prepare for the ceremony. If you leave again, we will have to keep you locked here like a prisoner."

"Y-y-y-es father," Hinata stuttered.

'To think I finally forgot about this stupid ceremony,' Hinata thought as her head hanged low, 'I don't love him, and I never will. Why don't they understand this?'

"Hinata, look at me," Hiashi said in a seemingly understanding voice.

Slightly shocked, Hinata looked up at her father, who had a sad look on his face.

"I know you loved him and that you miss him, but you must move on. I understand how it feels to lose someone that precious to you, but we need you to do this. Uniting with the Inuzuka's is a great boon to our family. I know it isn't easy, but you must forget about him. It's the only way you will stay sane. Now, go to your room and stay there. I will have Ne-." Hiashi paused as he saw Hinata's face fall. "Ko will bring you your dinner."

Hiashi turned and left, leaving Hinata by herself.

'Neji. I wish you were still here. At least you would listen to me.' Hinata felt more tears coming to her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

Hinata entered her room, closing and locking the door behind her. Her room was modest for a heiress. The walls were beige, with a white ceiling. There was a wardrobe on the left of the door. It had carvings on it that resembled the Hyuuga flame and what appeared to be the Byakugan. Right next to the wardrobe was a body-length mirror. In the corner of the room across from the wardrobe was her mat. It was just the perfect size for her, and just her. At the foot of her mat was a desk. On top of the desk was a lamp and writing utensils. Above her desk was a window that gave view to the gardens of the Hyuuga clan. On the wall to the right of her room was another door connected to bathroom.

Activating her Byakugan to make sure no one was watching, Hinata quickly activated a seal that was underneath her desk. In her hand was a box, with writing on the top that simply said us.

Opening the box, Hinata took out a small book, and a kunai with three prongs.

Hinata slowly opened the book. Inside were pictures of her and her beloved, along with writings of her feelings and thoughts.

Hinata laughed as she remembered when Naruto attempted to make ramen using his rasengan. She blushed as the memories of being seen by Naruto when she was practicing her jutsu at the waterfall. She cried at sight of Naruto being pierced by Pein.

For hours Hinata looked at the pictures and read her writings. So many times had she written out Uzumaki Hinata. So many names she had prepared for their children. There were countless tearstains on the pages, all from the memories of her beloved. The pain of losing him resurfaced every time she woke, and the nightmares of his death when she slept.

Standing up, Hinata grabbed the tri-pronged kunai. The Yondaime had given this to her after she was forced to leave the battlefield. The look upon his face was that of a father who truly understood.

'Forget about him? Never. If I followed you father, I would turn cruel and heartless. Thats what you want isn't it? That's why you are forcing me to abandon my true love for someone who only sees me as meat. No. I will not accept this.'

"I will do this my way, and I will truly be with him!" Hinata ended with a loud shout, well for her.

Taking the tri-pronged kunai in both hands, Hinata placed it in front of her heart.

There was a banging on the door, followed by the voice of Ko telling her to open the door.

Hinata screamed out in response, "No! I will not fall to you! You will never understand how it feels! I will be only with Naruto, and I will make sure of it!"

Outside of the door there was a gasp, and the banging continued as the wooden frame started to splinter.

Closing her eyes, Hinata plunged the kunai towards her heart.

* * *

She felt no pain. No feeling of life leaving her, or even wetness. But she did feel a hand.

Looking at the hand, she started to snarl. Until she looked up at the face of her lost cousin, Hyuuga Neji.

"Why would you do this?" He asked with a kind tone. "He wouldn't want this for you."

"How would you know?" Questioned Hinata

"Because I have spoken with him, of course." Neji replied with a kind smile.

"But he is dead, there is no way you could have spoken to him!" Hinata shouted in annoyance.

"Dead? No no no, he isn't dead. He is waiting." Neji removed his hand from her, and walked towards the window.

Raising her eyebrow in curiosity, Hinata moved her arms to her sides, kunai still in her right hand.

"What do you mean waiting?"

Neji ignored her and opened the window. He quickly climbed on Hinata's desk, and left through the window.

"Wait!" Hinata shouted, but Neji just waved for her to follow.

Climbing through the window, Hinata looked around and saw Neji was walking into the Hyuuga garden.

Hinata quickly ran towards the gardens. She caught up to Neji, and opened her mouth to speak, when Neji motioned for her to remain silent.

"Trust me." Neji said.

Nodding her head, she followed Neji through the Hyuuga gardens.

* * *

Hinata felt as if she had been walking for centuries with Neji. Everywhere she looked, she saw her past. She saw herself being bullied by some children with one glance, and herself fighting against Madara the next. Every look brought up a new memory, even more vivid than those she had written down.

She kept following Neji on this seemingly endless walk. She started to ignore the memories, as if she had closed herself of completely of her past. Everything was a blur to her,until she ran into Neji's back.

"Why did you sto-" Hinata stopped speaking when she saw a small child in the path.

The child appeared to be a five-year-old girl clothed in a small orange and blue kimono. She had long red hair that flowed to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a pupil-less pale blue, and she had a large grin on her face. But the most striking feature was three whisker like marks on her cheeks.

The girl ran up to Hinata and pulled on her pant leg. Hinata understood that the girl wanted her to follow, and follow she did.

The child led Hinata to a dirt path, and stopped. Looking at the path, Hinata saw that it went to the top of a small hill. The girl pulled on Hinata's pant leg to draw her attention. Hinata looked down and saw the girl point to the top of the hill.

"Daddy is waiting." The girl said in a cute voice. "Can you take me to him?"

Hinata looked at the top of the hill and saw there was a man standing at the top, wearing a black robe with orange flames on the bottom. He was facing away from her, and she could only see that he had a mess of blonde hair on his head.

Hinata had a wide grin on her face as she looked at the little girl. "Yes I can take you to him."

She picked up the girl and quietly told her to hold on. When the child had gotten a firm grip, Hinata ran as fast as she could up the hill.

Time slowed as she drew near to the man. He turned around with a smile on his face, and love in his blue eyes. The man started to run towards Hinata and the child, with arms open wide.

"Naruto-Kun!" Hinata yelled out as tears came to her eyes.

Naruto embraced Hinata and the small girl. He lifted them both up in a hug and spun them around. Naruto looked at the smiling face of Hinata, and put her back on the ground. He then turned to the little girl, and kissed her on the forehead. The child giggled, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto pulled away from the child, and smiled at her. Naruto faced Hinata and gave a small smile.

"I've been waiting for you, but you are early. I don't know if I should be happy to see you again so soon, but I do know this. I love you, Hinata." Said Naruto.

Hinata had a slight frown at his comment, but quickly turned into a huge grin as she heard the words from Naruto that she had waited for all her life.

"I love you too, Naruto-Kun." Hinata said.

"I love you both Mommy and Daddy." said the child.

With a shocked look, Hinata faced the child, but she was quickly shaken out of her stupor by the laugh of Naruto.

"I love you as well Hitome." Naruto said.

The sudden declaration of her being a mother seemed to have washed past Hinata unnaturally, as she smiled at her newfound daughter.

"Oh Hitome-chan I love you too!" Hinata said with a smile on her face.

Naruto smiled as he brought his family into a large hug.

'This is everything I wanted. Everything. Is. Perfect.' Thought Hinata as she snuggled into the warmth of her love and child.

A strong breeze came over the hill, as Hinata and her family started to flow away in the wind, similar to the seeds of a dandelion being breathed away by a child.

As they faded there was a loud voice that declared "We are gathered here today in the remembrance of Hina-"


End file.
